


Glitch

by philindaisy



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A Natasha chapter may be added later, Framework, Gen, One-Shot, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-10-07 00:09:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10347840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/philindaisy/pseuds/philindaisy
Summary: In the Framework, life is different. If Phil Coulson never joins SHIELD- if SHIELD doesn't exist, then what happens to the ones it saved?[Post Agents of SHIELD 4x15, not romantic]





	

**Author's Note:**

> So, as far as I know, it's mostly just a widely assumed headcanon that Coulson recruited Clint into SHIELD, right? It's mostly based on him being the STRIKE: Team Delta handler. I mean, that's what I've always headcanoned and considering how much I see this headcanon, I think most people do too?
> 
> With that in mind- one of my first thoughts when Agents of SHIELD revealed the Framework reality was that, if Coulson didn't join SHIELD or if SHIELD had never existed, who would have saved Clint and by that logic, Natasha?

Clint Barton would’ve been a fool to say that he thought he could run forever. He’d known all along that it wouldn’t last- that his luck and time would run out eventually, so when it finally did, he couldn’t help the ill-humored laugh that escaped his lips.

He’d wished for this at five years old; sitting in the corner of the farmhouse he grew up in with a black eye and a bloodied lip as his parents’ screams and the sound of things breaking echoed through the halls. Barney sat across the room with his chin tucked into his knees and heavy tears welling in his eyes. Clint prayed that it would end, he wished for it to be over. In his head, he tried to bargain his life- begging the world to take him and spare his mother and older brother instead. It didn’t.

At nine, Clint had been sure that luck didn’t exist- that no one in the world had wanted nor cared to save him. His abuser was dead but had taken his mother too, and he and Barney spent their days in a crowded group home, completely unwanted. Foster families turned him away, not wanting the responsibility of a damaged child despite the boyish dimpled grin and the messy blond hair that the social workers insisted made him a shoe-in.

By sixteen, he’d figured it out- the idea that skill and ability outweighed the rest; that he could survive _only_ as long as he was good enough. So, he trained. Clint took what little he knew about archery and mastered it. He shaped himself, became the best and when it was finally time to go, he tumbled over the fence separating Carson’s Traveling Circus and the rest of the world- knocking the wind out of himself on the way down- and ran. He left the carnies and his brother, now a man much like his own father, in the dust.

Clint ran for years, dodging law enforcement, creating enemies, and escaping Barney. He became a mercenary for hire- taking and making every shot, no questions asked. Despite all of the wrong, he survived.

Until he didn’t.

Two days shy of twenty-one, Clint Barton took one final hit, blood staining the grey of his t-shirt just below his heart. His weapon clattered to the ground just before he did, the tip of the arrow shattering on impact.

As his eyes fell closed one last time, the landscape changed- almost pixelated in a blur that felt both virtual and realistic. The roof vanished and a brick wall formed behind him, an alley being created out of thin air. A man in a suit stood before him, flashing a badge with the anagram “S.H.I.E.L.D.” spelled out upon it.

 “I’d like to offer you another chance, Mr. Barton,” the man’s voice echoed.

_And everything went black._

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think, and if you want a Natasha chapter!


End file.
